Australian Squatters
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
In the sun-scorched pastoral landscape of colonial Victoria, a Swiss-born viticulturist turned his sharp, observant eye on the remarkable world of Australia's pioneering squatters — those bold settlers who staked their claim on vast, untamed stretches of land — and immortalised their lives in a vivid firsthand account. Originally published in French as Les Squatters australiens in 1861, Hubert de Castella's Australian Squatters chronicles the rugged realities, social customs, and extraordinary characters that defined the squattocracy of 19th-century Australia, rendered here in an authoritative English translation with introduction and notes by C. B. Thornton-Smith. This landmark work of colonial literature sits at a compelling intersection of travel writing, social history, and memoir, offering a rare outsider's perspective on a society in the raw throes of formation. De Castella's prose carries the precision of a trained observer and the warmth of a genuine admirer of the Australian frontier spirit, illuminating class structures, land politics, and the daily dramas of bush life with equal clarity. The 1987 Melbourne University Press edition, complete with scholarly apparatus, presents this nineteenth-century document to modern readers as both a historical primary source and an enduring piece of Australian cultural heritage. A testament to the power of cross-cultural witness, it leaves the reader questioning just how much — or how little — the Australian character has changed since those frontier days.
Author: Hubert De Castella
Format: Hardback
Published: 1987, Melbourne University Press
Genre: Australian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
In the sun-scorched pastoral landscape of colonial Victoria, a Swiss-born viticulturist turned his sharp, observant eye on the remarkable world of Australia's pioneering squatters — those bold settlers who staked their claim on vast, untamed stretches of land — and immortalised their lives in a vivid firsthand account. Originally published in French as Les Squatters australiens in 1861, Hubert de Castella's Australian Squatters chronicles the rugged realities, social customs, and extraordinary characters that defined the squattocracy of 19th-century Australia, rendered here in an authoritative English translation with introduction and notes by C. B. Thornton-Smith. This landmark work of colonial literature sits at a compelling intersection of travel writing, social history, and memoir, offering a rare outsider's perspective on a society in the raw throes of formation. De Castella's prose carries the precision of a trained observer and the warmth of a genuine admirer of the Australian frontier spirit, illuminating class structures, land politics, and the daily dramas of bush life with equal clarity. The 1987 Melbourne University Press edition, complete with scholarly apparatus, presents this nineteenth-century document to modern readers as both a historical primary source and an enduring piece of Australian cultural heritage. A testament to the power of cross-cultural witness, it leaves the reader questioning just how much — or how little — the Australian character has changed since those frontier days.